A high-resolution three-dimensional model of the solar photosphere derived from Hinode observations

¹ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Avda vía Láctea S/N, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
e-mail: hsocas@iac.es
² Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

Received: 22 September 2010
Accepted: 10 January 2011

Abstract

A new three-dimensional model of the solar photosphere is presented in this paper and made publicly available to the community. This model has the peculiarity of having been obtained by inverting spectro-polarimetric observations, rather than by using numerical radiation hydrodynamical simulations. The data used here are from the spectro-polarimeter onboard the Hinode satellite, which routinely delivers Stokes I, Q, U, and V profiles in the 6302 Å spectral region with excellent quality, stability, and spatial resolution (approximately 0.3′′). With this spatial resolution the major granular components are resolved, which implies that the derived model needs no micro- or macroturbulence to properly fit the widths of the observed spectral lines. Not only does this model fit the observed data used for its construction, but it can also fit previous solar atlas observations satisfactorily.